One in five automotive professionals experience a mental health condition, Andy Tylka told audience members at the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) open board meeting in Richmond, which coincided with the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. 

He said suicide rates in the auto industry are among the highest, and that 80% of workers say mental health support would improve their performance. 

Yet, only 50% of employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health. 

This is why Tylka started Break the Stigma, an organization to bring mental health awareness to the automotive industry. 

“I personally have always struggled with mental health illnesses and always kind of felt alone until I started really going to counseling,” Tylka said. “And then other people were talking to me and talking about their struggles, and I realized I wasn’t alone.” 

Tylka said he learned that there isn’t shame in mental health. 

“My ask for you all is, if you do struggle, talk about it and be transparent,” Tylka said. “By talking about it, you would be surprised that others are struggling with you, and those people might look down on counseling or talking to somebody, and never get help until it’s too late.”

His message followed a Collision Industry Conference presentation by Ben Chesterfield, general manager of Car Craft Accident Repair Centres, in Queensland, Australia. 

“Mental health is something that we all gloss over,” Chesterfield said.  “We don’t give it enough thought.” 

Chesterfield said one of the directors of Car Craft tasked him with looking into mental health services for their company. All he found were programs that allowed employees to call a number and talk to a therapist. 

“It didn’t sit well with me because we’re tradies at the end of the day,” Chesterfield said. “Everyone in this room pretty much started out as a tradesman. We’ve morphed into business owners and very successful business owners, but as tradies, we needed somebody that can relate on our level.” 

Chesterfield said he enlisted the help of the Motor Trades Association in Queensland, which he said is similar to SCRS. 

After some research, the association decided to work with an organization called TradeMutt. The company makes conversation-starting T-shirts directed to specific trades, with 50% of the funds from the shirts supporting mental health built for trade workers. 

“It [the shirt] has wheels, tires, roads,” Chesterfield said of the shirt made for the auto industry. “It’s got, as you call it, your gas gauge. It’s got everything that relates to the motor vehicle.” 

On the back, the shirt has the phrase “Don’t shut the bonnet on it.” 

Bonnet is an Australian word for hood. 

“It doesn’t matter what you do at work every day,” Chesterfield said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s tires, whether it’s mechanical service work, whatever, you always shut the bonnet. But the message we’re trying to get out is, don’t shut the bonnet on mental health. Don’t shut the bonnet on whatever’s going on in your life.” 

Chesterfield said the shirt was made for “tradies” by tradies. Shops across Australia are encouraged to wear it every Friday. 

The shirt starts conversations, Chesterfield said. He’d already been stopped three times on the way to the meeting that morning, he said. 

“I think they’re outrageous,” Chesterfield said. “I don’t think they suit my good looks but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about real workplaces, real change.” 

Chesterfield said talking about mental health can help make the industry inviting for the next generation. 

“Parents want their kids to get into an industry where they know they’re being looked after, parents need to know that this industry will look after their kids,” Chesterfield said. “It’s not just about the people that might be dealing with everyday issues. It’s about the people we’re trying to attract to our trade.”

Shirts can be purchased through the Motor Trades Association in Queensland here. 

Aaron Schulenburg, SCRS executive director, said during the open meeting that health insurance programs offered to SCRS members are another tool that the industry can use to provide mental health resources to employees. Comfort®, Gravie’s flagship product and a core offering in the programs offered by SCRS through Decisely, offers mental health coverage, providing no-cost access to in-network office visits for mental health. For more information visit https://scrsbenefitscenter.decisely.com/.

IMAGE

Ben Chesterfield speaks about mental health at CIC May 1/Teresa Moss